On a cold, starry night PV Finished

'Sorry...about before', visibly embarrassed. Charlotte looked at her straight in the eye, wondering if she really was. She sighed, crossing her arms.

Was she being genuine?

Charlotte couldn't tell, but she had a hard time trusting her...

She sat down next to the girl, still keeping her distance, her hand on her wand. Should she trust the girl? She didn't know, but she decided to be friendly nonetheless.

'Yeah, I just came here to watch the stars. I suppose that was your intention too?' turning sideways to face Fumiko.

She thought about the girl's earlier behaviour and, even though it seemed a little out of proportion, she understood it a little bit. Charlotte lied down next to Fumiko, feeling a little uneasy, but tried to hide it.

The girl is being friendly. Maybe I should give her a second chance.

'I know nothing about stars and constellations...' she chuckled lightly. 'I just like to come here and stare at the infinite darkness and nothingness of the sky. I don't think about it too much though, I'll end up having an anxiety attack.' looking up at the uncountable stars.

'When you think about it, we're absolutely nothing compared to everything that surrounds us, but we act as if we were the most important thing of all. Only to die and be forgotten.'

Was she talking too much? Maybe it was annoying Fumiko, and knowing how easily they could go back to hating each other, she stopped talking and looked back at the skies.

"Yeah, I just came here to watch the stars. I suppose that was your intention too? "

Fumiko simply shrugged with a tight smile " They just looked nice today. My house didn't have a lot of windows so I didn't get to see these often "

'When you think about it, we're absolutely nothing compared to everything that surrounds us, but we act as if we were the most important thing of all. Only to die and be forgotten.'

At first, Fumiko didn't know how to reply. Was she even supposed to answer that? It seemed like something Cadunt thought to herself all the time. Was this the power of befriending through mischief? The short rope to trust that'll disappear in a few hours?

Not to mention her anxiety attack. Guilt seeped in faster than before. No wonder she looked so upset about Fumiko's actions. The way Cadunt said it like she was telling the weather just baffled her to no end. It would take her probably months of friendship to even let a single clue of her fears and problems.

Short rope of trust that disappears in a few hours? 'Might as well enjoy it while it last' her sugar said.

" I...agree " not knowing how to answer Cadunt's words properly. She wanted to say so much to Cadunt. Like her own opinion on her statement and how Fumiko felt exactly the same all her life. Instead, she did something she vowed not to do. Taking a deep breath, she properly lay her whole body on the soft grassy surface. She didn't even care if her hair got a few dirt in them.

Her midnight eyes completely focused on the stars above her as she placed her hands on her stomach like she was ready to be mummified.

" Can I tell you a secret ? " she began, " I'm terrified of being forgotten ". She shifted uncomfortably in her position, her heart racing realizing she had exposed herself to a stranger, the sugar calming her down. Perhaps this was the least she could do since Cadunt shared her anxiety problems.

" The stars. I admire them. Yes, you're right about people forgetting they are inferior to things like these " from her sleeping potion, she gestured to the stars " People forget, and die. No matter how great they were, no matter how much they did for the world or how many achievements they got during their lifetimes, it's nothing compared to these " she pulled back her hand, only realizing it's been hovering under the starts for a while now.

" Stars " she faltered " they don't even need to do anything for people to remember them. They have their own charm that already draws people in. Even if they die people would remember them. They're...not even doing anything ..." she narrowed her eyes at the blinking dots in her sight.

" So...honest.," she mumbled out the last part. Hoping Cadunt didn't hear that she yawned as she rested her head over her hands, pulling up her legs in a for comfortable manner.

Dispersing any tension she might've dropped during her talk with a cheeky smile, she said: " My kindergarden teacher once scolded me because I told her I wanted to be an actual star when we were doing a play on our ambitions hahahah~ What about you? Did you have anything you wanted to be when you were a child? A knight from a faraway land? A bear? Snake? The sun? Pluto? Fried Chicken? Udon?"

She couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at how this conversation was going " I'm sorry...please tell me if I get a bit too much. A senior gave me some candies and I might've eaten all of them in one go " she gave a mischevious smile that was obviously clear of any guilt.

" I am..." she took a deep breath in, then out.

" Going to regret saying some things here am I ? " she pouted.

This felt nice. Fumiko turned out to be only putting on a façace earlier and Charlotte was happy she accepted to reveal herself. She stared at the stars, wondering how many of them were already dead.

'Can I tell you a secret ? I'm terrified of being forgotten'

From the tone of voice, the girl seemed quite uneasy. Charlotte gulped, smiling sadly. The dark and unknown skies gave a wistful feeling to their little hiding spot. The moon continued to glow majesticly as the trees, grass and walls shone.

'You shouldn't be. It's one of those inevitable things in life. Just like death. Everything gets forgotten. Once those stars stop shining, who will remember them? No one. You only know them while they're alive and that's all that counts'

She took a deep breath as she glanced at Fumiko. Her eyes were deadlocked as she stared into the sky, her hands on her stomach. She wondered what she thought, what was racing through her mind in this exact moment.

'Better get yourself seen like the stars then huh? It only teaches us to do the most we can because whatever we do, it's inevitable. Just like us they are born, they live and they eventually die.'

She sighed loudly, wondering why this conversation had gotten so sad. Being forgotten or dying didn't scare her at all. After all, she wasn't going to be there to see people slowly forget.

'You know what I'm scared of?' she said a little shakily. 'I'm scared of pain. Dying doesn't scare me much. It's like falling asleep. Going into a dream-free sleep for the rest of eternity. I'm scared of unstoppable and harrowing pain. I'm scared of losing the people I love. One day there here smiling with you and the other they're -- they're gone. You can't talk to to them. You can't hug them. They're just not here, and they're never coming back. Ever.'

As she finished talking, she could feel her heart in her throat and the tingling sensation of tears coming.

She cleared her throat, a little disconcerted. What did I talk so much? She felt safe around Fumiko and for some reason, she trusted her. Maybe she didn't mind the melancholic conversation.

'You shouldn't be. It's one of those inevitable things in life. Just like death. Everything gets forgotten. Once those stars stop shining, who will remember them? No one. You only know them while they're alive and that's all that counts'

She chuckled " Then....I have to make the best of it anyway huh? ahhahah..." her voice faltered " Thank you~ for demolishing my childhood dreams of being a star ~ " she mischievously joked lightly, holding no annoyance in her tone.

You know what I'm scared of?' she said a little shakily. 'I'm scared of pain. Dying doesn't scare me much. It's like falling asleep. Going into a dream-free sleep for the rest of eternity. I'm scared of unstoppable and harrowing pain. I'm scared of losing the people I love. One day there here smiling with you and the other they're -- they're gone. You can't talk to to them. You can't hug them. They're just not here, and they're never coming back. Ever.'

Fumiko fought back a question like ' What's it like to have someone you don't want gone ? ' . Cadunt must've love someone to the point she doesn't want them gone. A bubble of envy bubbled up in Fumiko and images of Cadunt hugging her special someone with genuine love.

A hug Fumiko haven't had in years.

On the other hand, she understood what Cadunt said and how her fear came to be. She too, had a fear like Cadunt. When you're too used to the fear, you eventually lose it as one.

She doesn't know if she really missed her parents now. They were dreams that isn't even scary but kept haunting her, at this point she questioned their entire existence.

Her heart felt empty and nothing more or less when it comes to things like this, but Cadunt's tone when she explained her fear sent tingles in Fumiko's heart. Instead of panicking and trying to change the subject, she gave a genuine smile at the girl.

" That's why we need to make the most memories with them right? heheh yayyy memoriesss~" she applauded softly like a child.


Fumiko wasn't good with people, especially sad ones. Sometimes she really can't relate why you're crying when your cat died. Usually doesn't trust herself when it comes to people's emotion because according to her, ' 99% of the time. I won't know what you're feeling unless you tell me about it '

But at this moment, she just felt like Cadunt kept things too much inside and she doesn't need someone to make her laugh, she just needs someone to listen without any judgement. Hoping she was right, she asked in a curious tone :

" Seems like you truly love a special someone ~ " it was a compliment in a disguise as a tease and she hoped Cadunt would understand since Tachibana did it before . " What are they like? Is it your family? Friends ? Pet cat ~ perhapppsss.....a fish?"

Hopefully, talking about it would ease up the melancholic atmosphere in a more positive light.

'You can be remembered, through pages. But is that really being remembered? Galileo, Leonardo DaVinci,who remembers them?' she said accentuating her words.

" Ohhh~ You quoted Da Vinci! " she exclaimed softly like she was excited to see someone quoting someone. " I wonder how many quotes you memorized in that pretty head of yours?~ Care to share some of your favorites?" she mused, giving Cadunt a look of interest.

This felt like a conversation that was going towards the boring road, but it wasn't like that to Fumiko.

Though she seemed oblivious and quite dense sometimes, she enjoyed learning simple things like this. She feels old with this but she learned to not care.

'Well, my mom. My dad, my sisters. And my cat.' she sighed a small smile on her face. 'Who's that person to you?'

She hid her surprise over Cadunt's question with a black stare. A naturally acted smile placed on her lips as she tried to avoid the questions undetected. " Awww...that's a pretty vague description about your loved onneeeessss~ " she pretending to childishly pout, expecting Cadunt to elaborate.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Cadunt enough...well, maybe it is. Sharing fears and all felt great . Fumiko even listed Cadunt as one of the few people she feels genuinely calm with. She seemed so understanding and kind.

Precisely why Fumiko didn't want to get to know her more.

She might be disgusted by Fumiko's fake side. Fumiko never wanted to trust someone too early again, as she did before.

Her heart, though apathetic at most things, she knows it'll shatter if someone she trusted hated her again. Tainting Cadunt's colorful life ( as she assumes so far ) with her family and identity problems would make her drown in guilt.

No. She refused to go through that again.

She smiled " Florence. Florence is very important to me. " of course she was talking about her violin, ' Florence'. In some ways, she wasn't lying to Cadunt. She felt like her recent reply made it too obvious that she didn't want to answer.

" I don't think...I can go a day without seeing him.." she looked up to the shining moon, wearing a sweet smile as memories of playing Florence came to her mind. All the sweet and sour ones. " I can introduce you to him one day ! " she declared a joyous tone in her voice.

Though she felt a bit guilty technically lying to Cadunt like this but she's sure when she gets to meet Florence, the girls would already by friends by that time and Fumiko wouldn't feel so defensive about her past.

'Florence. Florence is very important to me. I don't think...I can go a day without seeing him.I can introduce you to him one day !'

Thank god. Charlotte's heart started beating again as she thought that she didn't touch a sensible point after all. Maybe she just wasn't used to talking about herself, or maybe she just didn't feel like it, and Charlotte would totally understand that.

'Uh, sure! I'd love to meet… him? Isn't Florence a girl's name? I mean, it could work as a boy's name. It's a very pretty name…' she said a little awkwardly. If she couldn't go a day without seeing him, it must've be a very close friend.

'It must be nice coming here with someone you know, a friend to talk and relate to, huh? When I came here, I was all alone, I could only reassure myself with what my dad told me about this place. Must've been really, really helpful!' she cleared her throat. 'How is he like?'

Charlotte couldn't manage to make herself an idea of this Florence. Was he a little melancholic like Fumiko? Or full of life and happiness? Not able to decided, she chose to simply wait for Fumiko's answer.
Oh how delightful it must've been to face everything with a trusted and loved person, how unbelievably magic it must've been. Charlotte had made a really good friend here, Holly, but they only met after the Hogwarts Express, the Sorting Ceremony, after their first classes. In this moment, Charlotte envied Fumiko a little, but chose not to show it too much.

Maybe Fumiko could become a good friend, but only time could tell and at this very moment time seemed to have slowed down, enabling them to watch the gleaming stars forever.

'Uh, sure! I'd love to meet… him? Isn't Florence a girl's name? I mean, it could work as a boy's name. It's a very pretty name…'

Fumiko giggled but nodded in agreement. " Yaaaa...he never complained though. Seemed like he was happy with what ever name his mother gave him. Even if it was Fiddle Mc Smurf or something hahaha~" this time she talked about her butler, Florence. The one she named her violin after. He was such a sweet man and probably the only adult she could feel comfortable with a bit. A bit. Emphasize the ' bit '.

'It must be nice coming here with someone you know, a friend to talk and relate to, huh? When I came here, I was all alone, I could only reassure myself with what my dad told me about this place. Must've been really, really helpful!'

She still felt guilty Cadunt mistaken Florence for an actual human being but smiled anyway, feeling a connection with her about being alone when arriving here. " It truly is. But he get's busy sometimes too and I ...don't want to cling on him too much you know? Every time I interact with him, it assures me how I can meet so many great people when I'm down chaining myself down to only one. "

She wasn't lying. When lonely, she would play Florence for hours to no end but every time she even touched his wooden sleek body, she is reminded not to rely on isolating herself when her worries come and instead, face it head on.

" Your father was a wizard here? What house was he in? What did he say about Hogwarts? " she asked, curious to what he said to Cadunt to make her feel assured. She came here without even slight encouragement other than that one awkward hug from her aunt.

To Cadunt's next question , she furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip in a thinking manner. What would a violin's personality be like?

" He's..full of emotions. Once he starts feeling something he just lets it all out " when she plays it's usually when she feels a bit numb inside. So she goes and plays whatever tune to find her emotions again. Makes her feel alive again.

" He's a good listener. He never say's anything when I vent out whatever's on my mind and just takes it all away like a rushing river " just playing a tune that fits her frustrations, devastations or victory, just played perfectly between the melodies.

" He just...he makes me understand myself . Sometimes..." she can't believe she's actually sharing this " I don't know why I do these things. Some things. Many things. I don't know why I speak like this or act like that I just r-really don't- " her voice cracked.

Before she realised what's happening, she felt tear threatening to shed. Crap she talked too much. Anxious, she didn't even realize her hands, now slightly red from her fingers picking on them too much while she talked.

" I- I'm sorry " she quickly wiped her tears and took a deep breath, trying to stop a rapid breathing pattern. Cadunt must've been utterly confused by her sudden change .That'll just make her actually cry if she thinks about it any longer.

She didn't know what to do now except try to hide her huge urge to scream. That'll alert unwanted visitors so she did the best thing she could do.

hide

She sat up, without a word or facial expression, she hugged her knees closer to her chest and buried her head in it. Clearly trying pretend she didn't exist.

She wished Cadunt just left her alone. If that happened, she wouldn't cry as much as she's doing now. As Cadunt calmly advised Fumiko to take a deep breath.

She took a deep breath

And then came out a few tears.

Nothing changed for a while. Though her mind and heart ached as she sobbed, she still tried her best to avoid alerting anyone to their location. What she needed at least now was Cadunt and her odd but effective way to calm people down.

This wasn't the 1st time Fumiko cried to a friend. She had Callender, she had her previous friends. She felt uncorfortable when she cried in front of someone, thinking it was pathetic and burdensome but with Cadunt, that didn't happen.

She never felt so comfortable crying with someone. It was like the same thing happened to Cadunt and she knew exactly how it felt. To suddenly break down like this.

After a few minutes of sobbing, listening to Cadunts soft voice assuring her it was alright, she sniffed her snot back into her nose and wiped her tears with the thin fabric of her jacket. Collecting herself and making sure no more tears were spilling from her eyes, she looked at Cadunt with a weak smile.

" I'm..s-such a crybaby.." she tiredly chuckled, her voice dry and hoarse but over all understandable. She pulled herself from Cadunt's warm hug and fixed her falling ponytail like her breakdown never happened.

It wasn't that she tried to look suddenly apathetic or pretended nothing happened. She was just concerned about her looks now. How could she thank Cadunt with such a loose ponytail.

Before Cadunt could regret ever talking to Fumiko, she did her final tie to her hair and took a deep breaths, her midnight eyes staring back into Cadunt. Slowly, her smile turned upwards into a small genuine smile.

" Only the forest and stars can hear us now right? " she slowly questioned, like she wanted to be assured again.